Rudi Garcia was sacked for a weak start, former Inter Milan Manager Walter Mazzarri appointed as a new head coach until 2024:
Italian club Napoli have appointed the experienced Walter Mazzarri as their new head coach on a contract until 2024, as confirmed by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. Mazzarri replaces Rudi Garcia who was sacked after a disappointing start to the Serie A season which sees Napoli languishing in 7th place.
The 60-year-old Mazzarri arrives in Naples with a wealth of experience managing in Italy’s top flight. He previously spent four successful seasons with Inter Milan between 2009-2013, leading the Nerazzurri to two Coppa Italia triumphs. His best league finish at Inter was 2nd place in 2009-10, just two points behind champions AS Roma.
Before joining Inter, Mazzarri gained his Serie A experience during a two-year stint at Sampdoria from 2007 to 2009. This came after impressively guiding not well-known club Reggina to an unlikely Serie A promotion via the playoffs. His early managerial career included stints in Italy’s lower leagues with Acireale, Pistoiese and Livorno.
Walter Mazzarri, new Napoli head coach. Agreement sealed — valid until June 2024.
Former Inter and Watford manager has signed the contract — set to be unveiled as new coach today. Mazzarri replaces Rudi Garcia. pic.twitter.com/R21tk0CoVS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 14, 2023
After leaving Inter, Mazzarri spent the 2013-14 season at Inter’s rivals Napoli, replacing Rafael Benitez. He led them to Coppa Italia glory that season before resigning and surprisingly moving to English side Watford in 2016. Despite a respectable 13th place finish, he left Watford after just one season.
According to Football Italia, Mazzarri has been known for his pragmatic approach, often deploying a 3-5-2 formation to make teams robust and hard to break down. This discipline and defensive organization will be needed to sure up a Napoli backline that has already conceded 15 goals in their opening 8 league games.
Up front, Mazzarri will look to get the best from attacking talents like captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Giacomo Raspadori, Matteo Politano, Giovanni Simeone and Nigerian center-forward Victor Osimhen. Striking the right balance will be crucial as Napoli look to turn their stuttering season around and qualify for the Champions League again.
As reported by the Daily Mail, club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis sees the experienced Mazzarri as the “ideal coach” to lead Napoli’s revival thanks to his tactical intelligence and motivational qualities. After recent success under Gennaro Gattuso, De Laurentiis believes Mazzarri can make Napoli Serie A title challengers again and bring further trophies to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Mazzarri certainly has big shoes to fill but will be expected to make an instant impact. After leading Napoli to a Coppa Italia title last season, Gattuso departed amid speculation of a disagreement with De Laurentiis. The players and fans will hope the intelligent and organized Mazzarri can quickly get Napoli back on track after their underwhelming start to the new campaign.
Currently Napoli holds 4th position at Series A table with 21 points, 6 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses out of 12 maches.
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